6. 5. Statement: ‘Together for Mental Health’

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:34 pm on 11 October 2016.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 4:34, 11 October 2016

Yes. I’m very happy to recognise the series of references you made to your constituency, where real work is taking place. You’ll recognise that we’ve got an ambition for Wales to be a generally dementia-friendly nation, and that means more dementia-friendly communities and a broader approach that we need to take as a society. Some of that is about recognising that a number of the problems that men face are about their inability or unwillingness to talk or to be open about challenges, which are internalised and then end up being a bigger problem than they otherwise might need to. I’m really pleased to recognise the volunteer movements that are taking place, encouraging men in particular to find the space to have that conversation, to be more open and to actually have a better way of dealing with the challenges that many of us will face at different points in our life.

I’m really pleased to deal with the point you raised about stigma, and not just Nigel Owens—there’s a broader point here about the world of sport, where actually there’s an opportunity to reach out, not just to men, and to recognise people who achieve at a high level and the challenges that they face, and for them to be open to talking about their own experiences, and about how that can feed into community-based sport for men and women, too. So, there’s lots for us to be excited about, and to harness the advantages we can gain for all those different parts of our community and the different reach that different people have, because sometimes the message isn’t most effectively delivered by a politician.